Adjustable headrest



April 1, 1958 Filed April 9. 1956 WITNESS c. J. BARECKI ETAL ADJUSTABLEHEADRE ST' 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR flz'wler J. Barech' fluafl J.fiction BY @MM ATTORNEY April 1, 1958 c; J. BARECKI ET AL. 2,828,810

ADJUSTABLE HEADREST Filed April 9, 1956 a Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESS INVENTOR BY flawed ATTORNEY A ril 1, 1958 c. J. BARECKI ET AL 2,828,810

ADJUSTABLE HEADREST Filed April 9, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 3 WI TN E55 M 4,9x 011M111, 91% w INVENTOR ADJUSTABLE HEADREST Chester J. Barecki andOscar J. Nelson, Grand Rapids, Mich assignors to American SeatingCompany, Grand Rapids, Mich, a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationApril 9, 1956, Serial No. 576,869

6 Claims. (Cl. 155-177) The present invention relates to an adjustableheadrest for a chair, and particularly to a chair of the reclining typecommonly installed in intra-city motorbusses, railroad cars andairplanes.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide a chair having anadjustable headrest which may be moved to a selected one of severalpositions of angular adjustment relative to the chair back proper; toprovide an integrated chair back and headrest which presents theappearance of a conventional chair, the connections between the chairback and the headrest which provide for adjustability being concealedwithin the structure; to provide such an adjustable headrest which, froma normal rearward position in substantial alignment with the chair backproper can be tilted forwardly, thus affording the occupant the samecomfort that is sometimes otherwise achieved by the use of a pillow,this feature being particularly desirable when the occupant desires tohave the chair back in a reclined position and at the same time desireto read; and in general to provide such a structure which is simple andsturdy in construction, reasonably economical in manufacture andattractive in appearance.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective View of the upper part of a chairback, with portions of the upholstery broken away to show the mechanismfor the new adjustable headrest;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the upper part of the chair backframe and of the frame for the headrest connected thereto, the formerbeing hereinafter referred to as the back frame and the latter beinghereinafter referred to as the head frame;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of Figures 1and 2; 1

Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 are vertical sectional views of the back and headframes and the mechanism whereby the headrest is adjusted, theupholstery being omitted in these views, and the several viewsillustrating different selected positions of the headrest;

Figure 8 is a similar vertical sectional view, greatly enlarged; and

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view similar to Figure 3 butillustrating the reclined position of -the chair back with the headresttilted forwardly to serve as a pillow for the chair occupant, theoutline of the occupants head and shoulders being fragmentarilyindicated by a broken line.

Referring now in detail to these drawings, wherein like parts aredesignated by the same numerals, in the several views, the back framecomprises spaced tubular metal uprights 10 connected at their upper endsby a horizontal tubular metal crossbar 11. The head frame comprises aninverted U-shaped metal tube having an upper bight portion 12 anddepending legs 13 which have secured to their lower ends bearing members14 which 2,828,810 Patented Apr. 1 1958 are journalled on the crossbar11 inwardly of the back frames uprights 10.

At one side of the chair back, as here shown the left side as viewed inFigure 2, a bracket 15 is fixedly secured as by welding to the uppersurface of the crossbar 11 adjacent the left bearing 14. This bracket 15has cutwardly extending upper and lower arms designated 16, 17respectively, and these arms have vertically aligned openings 18, 19therein (see Figure 8) in which a sliding pawl or detent 20 is disposedfor up and down sliding movement. As best seen in Figure 8, the detent20 has a cam surface 21 at its upper end, a notch 22 in its frontsurface adapted to engage the brackets upper arm 16 adjacent the opening18 therein to lock the detent in a lowered position, and a collar 23thereon between the arms 16, 17 of bracket 15. A spring 24 is interposedbetween the collar 23 and the brackets lower arm 17 for normally urgingthe detent 20 upwardly.

A ratchet member 25 comprises a metal plate having an upper portion 26(see Figure 8) mounted as by welding on the inside wall of the left handdepending leg 13 of the head frame, and having a middle portion 27extending downwardly-inwardly from the upper portion 26 and a lowerportion 28 depending from the middle portion 2'7 above the detent 20.This lower portion 28 of the ratchet member has its bottom edge serratedto provide a series of ratchet teeth 25 arranged concentrically aboutthe head frames pivotal connection to the back frame, the rearward edgesof which ratchet teeth are adapted to engage the upper front surface ofdetent 20 to prevent rearward movement of the head frame when it hasbeen tilted forwardly the desired distance. The forward edges of theratchet teeth 29 are formed so as to cam the detent 2i) slightlydownwardly during forward movement of the head frame so that the teethpass over the detent.

The forward edge of the rearwardmost ratchet tooth 30 is enlarged so asto cam the detent 2t farther downwardly and forwardly into lockingengagement of the detents notch 22 with the upper arm 16 of bracket 15(see Figure 7). This limits the forward movement of the head frame andalso locks the detent 20 out of engagement with the ratchet member 25 topermit free swinging movement of the head frame rearwardly asillustrated in Figure 8.

The rearward edge of the forwardmost ratchet tooth 31 is elongated so asto contact the detent 20 to limit the rearward movement of the headframe and at the same time to move the detent rearwardly out ofengagement with the brackets upper arm16 thus permitting the detent 21to be moved by spring 24 back into engagement with the ratchet memberfor the next trip forward of the head frame, as seen in Figure 3fFigures4, 5 and 6 illustrate intermediate selected positions of angularadjustment of the head frame relative to the back frame.

The assembly hereinbefore described is upholstered as an integratedunit, there being a continuous pad of resilient upholstery material suchas sponge rubber '32 disposed over the front surface of the back frame,the

head frame, the ratchet member and the detent. There is desirablyprovided a shield 33 secured as by welding to the head frames bightportion 12 and to its left hand bearing 14, which shieldseparates theadjustment mechanism from the upholstery pad 32. The entire assembly isenveloped in a single upholstery cover 34 thus providing a chair backwhich is of conventional appearance but which has the adjustableheadrest feature built into it.

It will thus be seen that the invention provides an upholstered chairback having a joint near its upper end whereby the upper portion of theback can be tilted forwardly to a selected one of several angularlyadjusted positions relative to the lower portion of the back. While butone specific embodiment of the invention has been herein shown anddescribed it will be understood that numerous details may be altered oromitted .without departing from the spirit of .the invention as the sameis defined by the following claims.

We claim:

1. An adjustable headrest for a chair having a back frame, said headrestcomprising: a head frame pivotally connected to the top of the backframe; a ratchet member mounted on the head frame and provided with aseries of ratchet teeth; and a detent mounted on the back frame forsliding movement to a position of engagement with the ratchet memberwhereby to permit forward movement of the head frame to selectivepositions of angular adjustment of the head frame relative to the backframe while preventing rearward movement of the head frame; means on theratchet member for automatically disengaging the detent from the ratchetmember when the head frame reaches a limit of forward movement; andother means on the ratchet member for automatically engaging the detentwith the ratchet member when the head frame reaches a limit of rearwardmovement.

2. An adjustable headrest according to claim 1 characterized by having acontinuous resilient upholstery pad disposed over the front of the backframe, the head frame, the ratchet member and the detent, and anupholstery cover enveloping the entire assembly.

3. An adjustable headrest for a chair having a back frame comprisingspaced uprights connected at their upper ends by a horizontalcylindrical cross-bar, said headrest comprising: an inverted U-shapedhead frame having its legs pivotally mounted at their lower ends on saidcross-bar, a ratchet member mounted on the inside wall of one of thelegs of the head frame and provided at its bottom with a series ofratchet teeth; a detent mounted on the cross-bar for sliding movement toa position of engagement with the ratchet member whereby to permitforward movement of the head frame to selective positions of angularadjustment of the head frame relative to the back frame while preventingrearward movement of the head frame; means on the ratchet member forautomatically disengaging the detent from the ratchet member when thehead frame reaches a limit of forward movement; and other means on theratchet member for automatically engaging the detent with the ratchetmember when the head frame reaches a limit of rearward movement.

4. An adjustable headrest according to claim 3 characterized by having ashield secured to the head frame forwardly of the ratchet member anddetent, a continuous resilient upholstery pad disposed over the front ofthe back frame, the shield and the head frame, and an upholstery coverenveloping the entire assembly.

5. An adjustable headrest for a chair having a back frame includingspaced uprights connected at their upper ends by a horizontal tubularcrossbar, said headrest comprising: an inverted U-shaped tubular headframe having secured to the lower ends of its legs bearing membersjournalled on said crossbar inwardly of the back frames uprights; abracket fixedly secured to the crossbar adjacent one of said bearingsand having upper and lower arms provided with aligned openings therein;a detent slidably disposed in said openings and having a cam surface atits upper end, a notch in its front surface adapted to engage thebrackets upper arm adjacent the opening therein to lock the detent in alowered position, and a collar thereon between the brackets arms; aspring interposed between the collar and the bracket for normally urgingthe detent upwardly; a ratchet member comprising a plate having an upperportion mounted on the inside Wall of the leg of the head frame adjacentsaid bracket, a middle portion extending downwardly-inwardly from theupper portion and a lower portion depending from the middle portionabove said detent, said lower portion having its bottom edge serrated toprovide ratchet teeth the rearward edges of which are adapted to engagethe upper front surface of the detent to prevent rearward movement ofthe head frame and the forward edges of which are formed so as to camthe detent slightly downwardly and thus pass the detent during forwardmovement of the head frame, the forward edge of the rearwardmost toothbeing enlarged so as to cam the detent farther downwardly and forwardlyinto locking engagement of the detents notch with the brackets upper armwhen the head frame reaches a limit of forward movement thus disengagingthe detent from the ratchet member, and the rearward edge of theforwardmost tooth elongated so as to move the detent rearwardly out oflocking engagement with the brackets upper arm when the head framereaches a limit of rearward movement thus permitting the detent toengage said ratchet member.

6. An adjustable headrest for a chair having a back frame, said headrestcomprising: a head frame pivotally connected to the top of the backframe; a ratchet member rigidly mounted on the head frame and providedwith a series of ratchet teeth arranged concentrically about the headframes pivotal connection to the back frame; a detent mounted on theback frame for movement to positions of engagement with or disengagementfrom one or another of said ratchet teeth to secure the head frame inangular adjustment relative to the back frame; means associated with theratchet member for automatically disengaging the detent from the ratchetmember when the head frame reaches a limit of forward movement; othermeans associated with the ratchet member for automatically engaging thedetent with the ratchet member when the head frame reaches alimit ofrearward movement; a continuous resilient upholstery pad disposed overthe front of the back frame, the head frame, the ratchet member and thedetent; and an upholstery cover completely enveloping the entireassembly of the back frame, the head frame, the ratchet member, thedetent and the continuous upholstery pad.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS237,973 Bissell et al Feb. 22, 1881 576,480 Stern Feb. 2, 1897 702,304Hulse et al June 10, 1902 881,492 Schiller Mar. 10, 1908 2,636,552 LongApr. 28, 1953

